Black Dreams
by andstilltheyechome
Summary: Eden lives an average life in London, where she's confined herself to the fact that she is destined for nothing but normalcy. Yet one night and one magic show later, the Four Horsemen storm into her life, and with them they bring a swarm of illusions, love and family secrets. Jack/OC
1. Prologue

**Black Dreams, a Now You See Me fanfic**

**A/N - This is just the prologue, set in the present. The chapters will return to the past events. Please let me know what you think! **

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Prologue

The lights were white and harsh. They did nothing for Eden's appearance. She stared at her reflection in the mirrored glass. There was probably someone behind it, but she didn't care. She was too fixated on the purplish bruises beneath her eyes, the livid red cut on her forehead, her slightly swollen lip. She never thought she'd see herself like this.

The door to the room opened. FBI agent Cowan stepped into the room. Physically he looked just as tired as Eden, but she could see that look in his eyes, that hunger. She'd got used to seeing it in the last few weeks, even in herself. She glanced at her reflection again. Was that hunger still there? She wasn't entirely sure now.

SOCA agent White followed Cowan in. Eden felt a pang of guilt. He reminded her of home, of London. Being thousands of miles away had somehow made her actions seem less serious, but now, in this room, handcuffed to a metal table and a British agent watching her, the realisation of everything she'd seen and done began to weigh heavy on her shoulders. Her heart was picking up its pace, pounding against her ribs, punch after punch after punch.

_Calm down, _she told herself, _just calm down. _

All four of the Horsemen had been in her place and all four of them had got out of it. She could do it too. It was just too bad she couldn't shake her handcuffs off as easily as Daniel.

"Now, Miss Hale, we can finally sit down and chat," Cowan said. He looked smug. Eden's heart started hammering faster, this time anger fuelling it. "You've been running for quite a while, it must feel good to take a rest."

He looked at her expectantly, waiting for a reply. Dylan Rhodes had told her to stay silent, so stay silent she would.

When no answer was forthcoming, Cowan cleared his throat, choosing his new tactic. "If you didn't know already, this is Agent White, from SOCA, the Serious Organised Crime Agency." White nodded at Eden. She returned his nod with a look. "The two of us have been speaking with the British Embassy and others. You might be glad to hear that we've come to an agreement. It's simple, really; you tell us the whereabouts of the Four Horsemen and we'll let you return to London safe and sound, to your family and friends. You won't be charged with any involvement. It's a damn good deal, Miss Hale. I'd advise you to take it."

Eden couldn't think straight. Any second now she was sure her heart would burst from her chest or just stop altogether; it was going so fast. _The whereabouts of the Four Horsemen. _They'd got away. Jack had got away. The last time she'd seen him he'd-

"Miss Hale?" White interrupted her thoughts. He rested his forearms on the cool metal of the table and leaned a little closer. He was young for an agent, she thought. Probably only a few years older than her. "I'd like to urge you to accept this deal. If I'm being honest, you're getting off lightly-"

"But the Four Horsemen won't, will they?" she interrupted. "Even if I knew where they were, even if I told you, if you catch them you won't give them special treatment like me. They'll be put away for years."

The two agents watched her, wondering what to make of this outburst. She'd ignored what Dylan had told her, but it felt good. Their silence was confirmation enough.

Cowan tapped his fingers on the table. He was becoming irritated, his cheeks reddening. "This could all end quite badly for you, Miss Hale, if you don't cooperate with us now."

Cooperate. She'd already cooperated with four magicians. Where had it landed her? Here, being questioned. But did she mind? She considered it, and the conclusion surprised her a little. No, she didn't. She didn't regret anything that had happened. Sure, if it hadn't been for the four of them, five counting Dylan, she'd still be in London right now, trying to keep on top of her bills and job hunting while pleasing her friends by attending every social event going. Looking back, that life hadn't been for her, not really. This whole thing may have started on shaky ground, may have grown off the back of illusions and secrets, but in truth it was the best thing that had ever happened to her. What she'd discovered had shocked her, sickened her, but it had also opened her eyes. To think, if she had just said "no" on that first day this might have all played out differently, she might not hold the feelings she now possessed.

No, she didn't regret it at all.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N - Thanks so much for the reviews, favourites and follows so far, it means the world, keep them coming! Made this chapter a little longer to compensate for the prologue being short. I hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think!**

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Chapter One

_A few months earlier._

Autumn evenings were Eden's favourite. Above the city the sky was a collision of blues and yellows, the sun still fading. She knew she'd much rather be watching the sunset than a magic show. Weren't they for little kids birthday parties? Putting a needle through a balloon without popping it, gaudy flowers suddenly appearing in the magician's hand, guessing which cup the ball was under. When Maisie had announced to everyone that she'd bought four tickets to something called the 'Four Horsemen', Eden had just groaned. But it had been decided; Eden would cough up her hard-earned money to spend on tickets to a magic show she didn't want to see. It was typical. Although they were a tight-knit friendship group, they always seemed to forget that Eden earned the least out of all of them. Her pride just wouldn't allow her to remind them of that.

Which was why she now found herself stood on the pavement outside her flat, craning her neck to see around the passers-by and oncoming traffic.

She pulled her blazer tighter around her when a familiar yellow sign materialised down the road. She quickly flagged the cab down. Maisie had told Eden to wear heels for the occasion, which meant there was no way in hell she was traipsing up and down the tiny stairs in the underground. So, however extortionate the rate, it had to be a cab.

"Where to?" the driver asked, his voice sounding faraway as it hummed through the speakers.

"The Royal Albert Hall, please," she said, dropping onto the seat.

She was just reaching across to shut the door when her hand was suddenly knocked aside, a figure darting into the taxi and slamming the door in one fluid motion.

Eden snatched her hand back, instinctively leaning away. Well, what a great start to the evening; she had a hitch-hiker.

She stared at him dumbfounded for a second before her scrambling mind grabbed two words and flung them from her mouth. "Excuse me!"

At the same time the driver shouted, "Hey, mate, get out!" His voice didn't sound very intimidating rattling through the speakers.

The young man looked at the driver through the partition and then at Eden. His hair was short and brown, his eyes a matching colour. But what Eden really noticed was how startled he looked, as though he'd hopped in the cab and hadn't expected to find it occupied.

She found herself edging back along the seat ever so slightly, pushing her bag away from him. Something about this smelt off.

He raised his hands, and when he spoke she immediately recognised his accent: American. "I- look, I'm really sorry, I know you got in this taxi before me but would you please just let me hitch a ride? I'll-"

She stared at him, brow furrowed, sure that she was hearing him wrong. "I'm not being funny but would you please get out? I have somewhere to be."

Despite her interruption he continued, his eyes imploring her, wide and brown. "I know, I know, I'm sorry, but I'll go wherever you're heading, I'll even pay for the journey, I just really need to get out of here, like right now."

He glanced over his shoulder out the back window, apparently looking for someone, and that action made Eden even more nervous.

The cab driver had turned in his seat and was jerking his thumb towards the door. His voice came over the speakers again, his tone harsh. "This young lady got in before you, you need to get out, son."

The young man seemed to be getting more frantic by the second, still holding his hands up, presumably to show he wasn't dangerous.

Eden sighed heavily. "Just get out, please."

"I can't," he answered, throwing another look over his shoulder, and this time Eden followed his gaze. Further down the street, the bobbing heads walking in the distance seemed to part in waves, like a ripple was spreading through them. It didn't take that ripple long to get closer and closer to the cab, and it was then that Eden caught flashes of two men rushing through the crowd. Whatever was happening, it clearly had something to do with the guy in her cab, and he didn't look too overjoyed about it.

She'd seen fights before on nights out. They always made her feel helpless. No matter how much she wanted to help the person being attacked, no matter what they'd done to deserve or not deserve it, she could never bring herself to intervene. What help would she be, a twenty-year-old girl, her vision hazy from alcohol?

Eden looked at the young man, reason screaming at her to stop. He was still pleading her with his eyes, and he licked his lips nervously. "Are they...?" she tried to begin, nodding towards the commotion outside that was barrelling closer with every passing second.

He nodded. Whatever was about to happen, it wasn't going to end well for him. Eden didn't think she could sit back and watch another person get beat up, so, despite everything, she did what she felt was right.

"You're paying, and we're going where I'm heading," she snapped at him, her heart thumping in her chest. She turned to the driver and said, "It's fine, just go to the Albert Hall."

The driver shook his head. "He's not-" he started, but Eden interjected.

"It's fine, I know him, honestly, just please drive," she lied. She could feel anticipation tense around her lungs.

The driver sighed and lazily put the car into gear. "Fine, but any funny business and you're both out, alright?"

"Okay," Eden answered.

She sat back and found the guy looking out the window again. She looked too. The cab had just merged with the traffic when two men ground to a halt where it had been. They looked about frankly, but there were at least two identical black cabs behind the one they were looking for. They'd lost him.

The guy's posture visibly relaxed, and he released the breath he'd been holding. He looked to Eden and smiled. It was wide and bright. "Thanks."

Eden shifted in her seat, keeping her bag on her other side. Despite her moment of mercy, she didn't trust him in the slightest. He'd clearly done something wrong to warrant two blokes chasing him down the street. She just wanted this drive over and done with quickly. The magic show was beginning to look more appealing. "No problem," she mumbled.

He kept smiling. "No seriously, thank you, you saved me from getting my ass kicked back there," he continued, laughing.

Eden managed a hesitant smile. "It's fine, really."

The cab descended into awkward silence. Eden imagined herself flinging open the door and rolling out onto the road, but then again she thought she'd rather take her chances with a possible mugger than oncoming traffic.

"I'm Jack, by the way," he piped up. He was repeatedly tapping the tips of his fingers together.

"Eden," she replied, crossing her arms. She wondered if the driver could hear them introducing themselves, destroying the lie she'd blurted out earlier. If he could, he didn't care.

"So why the Albert Hall?" Jack asked.

Eden felt herself blushing involuntarily with embarrassment. "Seeing a magic show with my friends."

Jack's grin widened, and Eden didn't know whether that was good or bad. "Do you like magicians?"

She couldn't tell if he was mocking her or if it was a serious question. She shrugged. "Take them or leave them, really."

His grin only remained. "Well I like magicians."

Eden found herself smiling. His own smile was infectious. "Maybe I'll like them after tonight."

"Maybe you will." He laughed again and Eden joined in nervously. She felt a little bad for doubting his intentions. Maybe he wasn't a mugger, maybe he was just an honest guy who got into a bit of trouble.

It didn't matter now anyway. It wasn't too long a drive to the Royal Albert Hall from Eden's flat, and it was at that moment the building swung into view, lit up brightly against the dusk. The cab rolled to a stop and Eden glanced up at the meter. £10.20.

She was reaching for her bag when Jack's voice said, "I've got it, remember?"

"Oh yeah, thanks."

"It's the least I can do," he said with a half-smile as he pulled his wallet from his dark jeans, fishing out a tenner and a fiver.

As the driver took the money and Jack waited for his change, Eden swiped her bag and began to climb out of the cab. She was looking around for her friends when she heard the slam of the car door. She expected Jack to just go on his way, but she jumped when he appeared silently beside her.

"Hey," he said, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket, "enjoy the magic show, yeah?"

He started to walk backwards away from her, and Eden smiled more genuinely this time. "I'll try."

"You'll love it, I guarantee it."

Eden raised an eyebrow, but her smile grew. "You guarantee it?"

"I guarantee it," he repeated, dragging out the words, and with that he raised a hand, waved, and turned around, merging with the crowd.

Thirty minutes later and Eden was sitting in a front-row balcony seat. To her left Maisie was itching with excitement, and to her right the two guys, Nick and Cal, were giggling like two little school boys about something.

"I can't believe that guy just got into your cab," Maisie was saying. "Imagine if he'd attacked you or something."

"Yeah thanks Mais, I'd rather not imagine that."

"Was he hot though?" Maisie went on, lowering her voice, not that anyone could hear her over the chatter of voices in the huge, circular room.

Eden rolled her eyes. Her best friend only ever had boys on the brain. "I wasn't really worrying about that if I'm honest."

Maisie sighed dramatically. "I despair of you, I really do."

Eden opened her mouth to answer, but it was at that moment the lights in the room dimmed. An excited hush swept across the room, everyone seemingly more eager to see the show than Eden. She had to admit, if a magic show was being held in such an iconic venue as this then it couldn't be _that _bad.

The stage descended into shadow. Everyone waited. The room was so quiet Eden was afraid to even shift her position in case the chair squeaked.

Yet no one had to wait long. One by one, four spotlights burst to life, illuminating four figures. As each of them appeared, a disembodied voice intoned their names. It wasn't until the voice spoke the final one that Eden suddenly started paying more attention.

"And Jack Wilder."

_Jack?_

Eden leant forward in her seat as everyone cheered, squinting at the figure like that would help her vision. Brown hair, not particularly tall, yet Jack from the cab had still been taller than her.

The four figures walked closer to the edge of the stage, and with each step Eden became more and more sure.

Jack who'd hijacked her cab was in fact Jack Wilder the magician.

Eden sat back in her seat, thankful that no one was looking at her to see her face reddening.

If things weren't weird enough, it was just a shame she didn't know they were about to get a lot weirder.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N - Thanks for all the lovely reviews, favourites and follows so far. Keep them up! It's great that so many of you are liking this fic. This chapter's another long-ish one, but I had a lot to fit in. Let me know what you think!**

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Chapter Two

"Ma'am, would you mind helping out for a second?" Merritt McKinney asked.

A middle-aged woman in the arena section nervously got to her feet. They were on the final trick, the big finale.

"Now I want you to pick a seat," Merritt said.

"Whoever is sat in that seat," Henley Reeves picked up, "will be lucky enough to come on stage, and so will whoever is sat on their right."

"Doesn't matter if they're your wife or your brother or a total stranger, the person sat to your right comes too," J. Daniel Atlas finished.

Eden shrunk a little lower in her seat, as if that would give her any immunity against the random choices of a woman she didn't know. Eden hoped the woman wouldn't choose the boxes, anywhere but the boxes. Getting up on stage was not something Eden had any desire to do. She'd barely got over the fact Jack Wilder, the _magician, _had leaped into her cab earlier, and she didn't feel up to facing him again. Embarrassment was still raging through her veins.

"First of all, I want you to choose a section of the venue. Arena, stalls, the boxes or the circle," Merritt went on.

The woman flapped her hands like a nervous bird. "Urm, boxes."

"Alright, now let's see if I can remember the names of the boxes. You can have the... Loggia boxes, Grand Tier boxes, or the Second Tier boxes. Take your pick."

Eden could feel herself getting more nervous as this went on, even though she knew it was irrational. _Not Loggia, not Loggia, pick any of the boxes just not Loggia._

"Loggia."

_Shit._

Merritt smiled. "Okay, ma'am, now just choose me a number between 5 and 35."

The woman chewed her lip, thinking. _Please don't choose seat 31. _"Um, 30, seat number 30."

Eden relaxed. So close.

It only dawned on her what had happened when Maisie punched her arm. Eden looked to her and saw the squeal trapped in her throat. The woman had chosen Maisie's seat.

And whoever was sat on the right of the seat chosen had to accompany them on stage.

"Would whoever's sat in the seat LG30 please stand up!" Jack called out, and Maisie got to her feet looking a little bewildered, everyone clapping.

Eden, on the other hand, wished her seat would snap shut, sandwiching her inside.

"What's your name?" Daniel called.

"Maisie," came the answer, her voice a little too high-pitched.

"Now who's that sat to your right?"

"My friend Eden."

Maisie looked to her, grinning wildly. This was a pure adrenaline rush to her, but to Eden it was adrenaline of a different kind, the fear kind. Maisie gestured for her to stand up, but Eden remained frozen, her palms slick where her fingers were laced around the arms of her seat.

"It seems we've got a shy one," Daniel said, and Eden didn't have to be looking at him to hear the smile in his voice. Laughter bubbled through the room and Eden felt herself blushing furiously. "Come on; Eden, was it? I don't bite, Eden, I can promise you that at least."

The other Horsemen called for Eden to stand up. She tried not to focus on Jack's voice among them as she grudgingly got to her feet, helped by Maisie tugging on her arm. "Relax, Eden," Maisie whispered to her, still smiling like a lunatic.

The crowd erupted into what she guessed was encouraging applause.

Someone came to escort the two girls down to the stage. For each step Eden's heart beat double. She wasn't a limelight kind of person, not at all. That was strictly for Maisie, who was lapping up every moment of it like a cat with milk.

When the two of them appeared on stage, Maisie dragging Eden behind her, the crowd erupted into applause again. Eden's breath caught in her throat at the sight of the venue, all those eyes trained on her, the vivid lights hammering down like miniature suns.

She couldn't help but almost jump out of her skin when Jack materialised at her side. He grinned knowingly, all high cheekbones and bright eyes beneath the throb of the lights. Eden could do nothing but stare, all words alien to her. He stretched out an arm ahead of him, back to business, and said to both Eden and Maisie, "This way please, ladies."

He directed them to the centre of the stage as Daniel began to explain, "Now, this wouldn't be a Four Horsemen show if there wasn't any money involved."

"And we're not talking about the money you paid to be here," Henley added.

"Now," Merritt started, turning to face the two girls, one glowing with excitement, the other with nerves, "let me guess. Maisie your lucky number is... 8, and Eden yours... 17."

The two girls exchanged surprised glances. He was right, and he'd done nothing but look into their eyes. "Yeah," they answered in unison.

"Great, so," Merritt went on, and he turned back to face the audience, "would everyone whose seat is numbered either 8 or 17 please stand up."

People popped to their feet throughout the room. Eden watched them appear one by one.

_What the hell am I doing here?_

"Would everyone who's stood up please look under their seats? I think you should all find a piece of paper. Now, careful not to show it to either Maisie or Eden here, keep what's on the paper facing you."

The people obliged, mutters going around the venue.

"Eden," Merritt continued, spinning around to face her. Her heart kicked up another notch. "I want you to think of a name, any name, and spell it out. Whoever out there has a letter on their paper that matches a letter Eden says, please turn the paper around and hold it up for everyone to see. Okay, Eden, you ready?"

She looked at Merritt, her arm still looped through Maisie's for support. Did she have a choice? Probably not. She nodded. "Yeah, ready."

"Okay then, just spell out a name."

Eden thought it easy enough to just spell out Maisie's, so she began, "M."

A couple of seconds later there was a flash of movement, and someone in the stalls held up their piece of paper, the letter M printed on it black and bold.

"A," she continued. Another piece of paper turned around, up in the Second Tier boxes.

"R." Paper turned.

"T." Another.

"I." Another.

"N." And the final one.

"Martin?" Merritt said. "Okay then, Martin it is."

He had turned back to the audience, both him and Henley beginning to explain something else, when Eden realised what she had just said. She hadn't said 'Maisie', she'd hadn't even been close. She'd said 'Martin'. Her throat constricted. She'd said her dad's name, the name of the man who'd walked out on her and her mum when she was only seven.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Maisie frowning at her. "Why did you say your dad's name?" she whispered.

Eden could barely get the words out. "I don't know, I didn't even know I was saying it."

She tried to calm her breathing. It didn't matter. She had clearly been so nervous she'd just made a mistake. It was only a name. It was nothing.

Eden focussed on what was happening before her. More people throughout the room were standing up. She tried to think what Daniel had asked. Something about knowing someone called 'Martin'.

"Okay, so," Jack said, walking past the two girls, addressing the audience; Eden tried not to jump this time, "those of you who have stood up, if you can we want you to call the Martin you know right now. Get out your cellphones and call them. If you know more than one, just choose the one you know best or the first one in your contacts."

The selected members of the audience obliged, phones going to ears.

"Once you've got hold of them," Henley went on, her copper hair vibrant beneath the lights, "I want you to ask them all what their lucky numbers are. Sounds strange, but once they've told you, shout the number out to us."

It didn't take long before people began to call out numbers. And it didn't take long till Eden realised they were all saying the same ones. 8 or 17.

The rest of the audience began to notice, the mutters rising.

"Okay, okay," Daniel said, quelling the murmurs. His smile was a little smug, but it was fiery. Everything was going to plan. "Those of you who held up the letters spelling out 'Martin', I want you to look in your wallets right now and call out how much cash you have in there."

Once again, the people obliged. Eden's nerves were beginning to fizzle away, intrigue taking over.

"£8000!" someone called out in disbelief.

"£17,000!" came another voice.

The others shouted out the same.

"Maisie," Daniel said, hurrying over and taking her hand, "I want you to do something for me."

He led Maisie away. Eden watched her go, wondering what was about to happen. For the third time that day, Jack appeared at her side, smirking. This time a blush didn't rise in her cheeks. Her whole attention was focussed on the trick.

"We used this safe in an earlier trick, Henley getting inside and disappearing, right?" Daniel was saying, gesturing to a safe perched at the very edge of the stage. "Can you confirm that the safe was empty every time you saw inside it?"

"Empty except for me, that is," Henley chipped in.

"Yes," Maisie said, answering Daniel.

"Could you open it for me now, please? The code is 817817," Daniel said.

Eden could see Maisie grinning as she bent down to turn the dial. Right before she twisted the handle to pull it open, Jack leant a little closer and whispered, his breath tickling Eden's neck, "Get ready."

The safe door sprang open and out shot plumes and plumes of bank notes, orange and purple and green and red, far too many notes than could actually fit in the safe. But they kept coming, flying out and fluttering down through the venue, the audience cheering and leaping to get their hands on them. Notes filtered down around Eden, and as she held her hands out to catch them, she caught sight of Jack's grin between the falling money.

"Thank you everyone, we are the Four Horsemen, goodnight!"

The room was a wild fury of commotion. Eden was watching amazed as everyone scrabbled for the money. She felt a hand on her arm, turning her around. Jack. "This way!" he shouted to her over the noise.

"What?" She tried to see where Maisie had got to, but she was no longer on the stage. Everything was a riot of colour and sounds, and the lights now seemed too sharp. She could feel a headache coming on, pounding in her skull.

Jack tugged harder on her arm and she reluctantly let him lead her away; she'd just have to find Maisie once things had died down.

The other Horsemen caught up to them, moving at a brisk walk as they entered the labyrinth of backstage. None of them seemed surprised to see her there. She presumed Jack was just taking her back to her seat, avoiding the crowd, which she could still hear roaring behind them.

"Right, we have about three minutes to get out of here," Daniel said, looking a little rattled.

Eden presumed the "we" didn't include her, yet when they passed the door Eden had entered earlier to get to the stage, she felt a twinge of confusion. It took her a few moments for her to ground to a halt. All Four Horsemen stopped abruptly at the sight of Eden standing still. She was acutely aware of Jack still holding her arm. She forced herself to speak. "The show was great, thank you, but I really need to get back to my friends. I'm sure I can handle the commotion out there, it's not that bad."

The four of them glanced at her, the same mixture of apprehension and determination on their faces. For the second time today, something didn't seem entirely right.

"Merritt?" Daniel said. He wasn't smiling smugly any more.

Merritt sighed. Eden felt her pulse start to pick up pace again."I'm sorry about this, I really am," he said to Eden. And then came that fateful word, "Sleep."

Everything for Eden went black.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N – Another mahoosive thank you to all the reviews, follows and favourites! The reviews really make my day, I love hearing your thoughts, and they help me work out how to progress with this fic. Once again I always feel like I'm making the chapters a bit long (thanks Chocoegg333 for assuring me otherwise!), but you'll get some explanations in this one. Please let me know what you think!**

**Edit: in answer to the question I just received, this fic takes place just after the movie.**

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Chapter Three

Eden jolted awake like someone had shocked her. She pressed herself deeper into the seat, sinking into the sagging, lumpy sofa, her eyes adjusting to the unusually dim light.

A sofa, not a seat; a single bare light bulb, not stage lights. It took her brain less than a second to process that she was no longer in the Albert Hall.

And as her eyes adjusted to the gloom, it took her brain even less time to work out that the four faces looking down at her definitely didn't belong to her friends.

She didn't know where she was, but she certainly recognised the Four Horsemen.

"Easy, easy," Merritt soothed as Eden scrabbled to the other end of the sofa, her heels clacking on the uneven wooden floor.

She looked at the four faces in turn, her pulse throbbing in her ears. Merritt was sat on the sofa beside her, a hand held out as if to calm her. Henley was perched on a rickety seat, brow furrowed in concern. Daniel was stood by the window, backlit by the murky street lamps outside, his face in shadow. And Jack, he hovered nearby, his tongue nervously tracing his bottom lip.

Eden tried to speak, but her mouth just worked like that of a fish, no words coming out. She was in a small, sparse room, ground floor. She could just make out houses across the street. Yet other than that, she still had no idea where she was.

Merritt took the lead. "Now, I know this must seem strange-"

"Strange?!" Eden exclaimed, suddenly finding her voice. Her skin felt hot and clammy, her mouth dry.

"Eden," Henley said, leaning closer, "we're not trying to frighten you and we're not going to hurt you, I promise."

"Oh, okay, you promise, right then." Eden's defence mechanism had always been sarcasm, but today it did nothing to still her nerves. She was out of her depth, she knew; she'd never found herself in a situation like this before.

She shouldn't have let Jack Wilder stay in her cab. She shouldn't even have gone to that stupid magic show in the first place.

"We just want to talk," Daniel said from where he stood in the shadows. Maybe she'd believe him if he actually stepped into the weak light the bare bulb emitted.

"About what?" Eden snapped. It felt like her stomach had dropped through the floor and was being repeatedly run over by trains in the London Underground. She opened her mouth to give another sarcastic retort, but she stopped herself when her eyes met Jack's. He looked anxious. His eyes were a little too wide. Would someone who meant her harm look anxious? She didn't know; she wasn't exactly acquainted with criminals.

"It's about your father," Henley said. At the mention of that one word, she had Eden's attention.

"What?" She recalled saying her dad's name during the show. She'd meant to spell out Maisie's name, but instead had said 'Martin'. She hadn't known why. Could this be about that?

"Your father left you when you were seven," Daniel said matter-of-factly, finally stepping away from the window. He too looked a little skittish. In fact, they all did.

_What on Earth is going on?_

"Do you know what your father did?" Daniel continued.

Eden stared at him, bewildered. Her fear was slowly giving way to blind confusion. "He worked in a bank. Why are you asking me this? Seriously, what the hell is going on?"

"Your father worked in a bank, yes, but what about his other job?" Daniel asked.

"What other job? I don't even know what you're on about!" Eden answered. In that moment she had an overwhelming surge of homesickness. She didn't want to be here, wherever _here_ was. She didn't want to be talking about the father she'd tried to forget.

All Four Horsemen exchanged glances. Eden snuck a glance of her own at Jack. Out of all of them, she felt like he'd betrayed her trust the most. She was never letting a stranger into her cab again.

"She doesn't know," Henley said quietly.

"I told you she didn't." It was the first time Jack had spoken since she'd been here. Was he defending her or himself? Eden met his gaze, but quickly looked away.

Merritt sighed and turned to her. "Your father was a magician."

A pause, and then the bark of shocked laughter escaped Eden before she had time to control it. She looked at them all in disbelief. "I don't think you've kidnapped the right person. My father was a boring old banker with a sense of humour crisis. He would have thought 'magic' was a load of crap, believe me."

"Show her the file," Daniel said.

Jack did as he asked, retrieving something from a cluttered desk. He held out a folder for Eden. She looked from the folder to Jack, resolved not to take it. She wasn't going to have any part of this. She was going to go home.

"Just look at it, please," Henley spoke up.

Eden didn't know if it was Henley's gentle tone or her own curiosity that won out, but Eden found herself warily taking the folder from Jack's outstretched hand.

She flipped open the cover and was immediately granted a look at the face she had struggled to erase from her childhood memories. She had managed to make his features blurry over time, anonymous, but the photo brought everything back to her.

He looked older than she remembered, but there was that same strong nose, same strong jaw, same calculating eyes. Eden remembered him as being always clean-shaven, but in this photo he had a smattering of stubble. She didn't like how he was looking directly into the camera, directly at her, so Eden scanned further down the page. It listed general details of her father, birth date and such.

Eden could feel irritation rising. She quickly turned the page over and found a plastic wallet. Inside was a single, colourful card. It looked to be a tarot card. Eden didn't need to read the writing to know which one it was. The Devil.

She moved onto more plastic wallets. Inside each were newspaper clippings, posters, leaflets, photos and all of them made her breath hitch. They were all about a magician called Damien Hale. Damien had been her father's middle name. And in all the photos was her father, stubble growing on his face, illusions and tricks going on around him.

She frantically scanned the clippings and posters. All the newspapers were foreign, some in different languages; nothing from England.

"I don't understand," Eden stuttered. She would have liked to have said none of it made sense, but little things were piecing together in her head. All those times her father had been away on 'business', he hadn't meant with the bank.

She found herself laughing again. This was absurd. "My father," she said, trying to curb her laughter, "was a magician."

Daniel nodded. "Yes. But not just any magician, actually-"

"Oh, let me guess," Eden interrupted, "he was the greatest magician who ever lived? And now you've come to recruit me as one of your own? Honestly, I don't understand how any of this matters. My father was a magician and he didn't tell me or Mum, big deal. Everyone has hobbies."

"Well then," Merritt drawled, "I guess you can count theft as being another one of your daddy's hobbies."

Eden's smile faded as she looked to Merritt. He only raised an eyebrow at her.

"Actually," Daniel went on, "your mother knew that your dad was a magician. It was only you who didn't."

Eden couldn't deny that hurt a little bit, but she swallowed it down and shrugged. "I was only seven, wasn't like my dad told me a lot of things. And what's this about theft, anyway?"

"I don't suppose you've heard of the Eye?" Merritt said. Eden stifled a smart arse response, and instead waited for him to continue. "The Eye is an organisation of sorts, to do with magic and illusion. We don't really have time to explain all the details right now, but I can tell you that we are a part of it, and so was your father."

Eden shifted uncomfortably. She didn't know what to make of any of it. "And?"

Daniel picked up the explanation. "Your father stole something from the Eye, something important, and disappeared with it. He's been missing for thirteen years."

Thirteen years. Eden could have told them that herself. "What did he steal?"

They all exchanged glances again. Eden wished they would stop doing that.

Merritt smiled at her. "Classified information."

"However," Daniel went on, "we think there was a sighting of your father in New York a few weeks ago. We've been assigned to find your father and retrieve what he stole."

"And where, exactly, do I come in?" Eden asked, exasperated now. This was all sounding crazier by the minute.

"Your father was a talented hypnotist," Merritt said. "Now, every magician needs a backup plan in case a trick goes wrong, a kind of fail safe. For your father's little disappearing trick, we think you're the fail safe."

Eden could only stare. It sounded ridiculous, but through it all she found herself wanting to know more. "What?"

"We think your father left clues to either his whereabouts or that of the artefact in your mind, via hypnosis, so if something went wrong everything he - or someone of his choosing - needed would be locked away in your memories. We just need you to help us work it out," Henley explained.

"You think my dad hypnotised me?" Eden asked, astounded.

Henley nodded. "We think so."

Eden's head was reeling. She stood up. "I'm going home."

She moved for the door, a little unsteady in her heels on the lopsided old floor, but Jack stepped in front of her, holding his hands out to stop her. "Wait, wait, wait," he protested, "we're not gonna keep you here against your will. If you don't like what we've proposed then you can go your own way. But don't you wanna find out? Don't you wanna know what happened to your dad?"

"No, I don't," Eden snapped, "now would you please get out-"

A sweeping beam of light illuminated the room, as though a lighthouse had just been dumped right outside. For a fleeting moment, Eden panicked that they had driven her out to the coast and she was no longer in London, but then the light was killed along with the sound of an engine.

Daniel backed closer to the window and peered outside. "Shit," he said, "we're out of time. They're here."

"Who are here?" Eden asked, but her words fell on deaf ears. Fear was seeping back into her.

"Look, Eden," Jack said, his hands on her shoulders, shaking her lightly. He looked desperate. "You're either in or you're out, but if you don't come with us right now you'll spend the rest of the night getting interrogated by the feds and you'll be no closer to having answers about what happened to your dad."

"But what, if I come with you I can just postpone the now inevitable police interrogation?"

Jack smiled, only one corner of his mouth rising up. "Pretty much, but at least you'll have answers."

Did she want to know about her dad? Yes, she realised. She wanted to know why he'd walked out on her and Mum for some silly 'artefact', why he'd left Eden to grow up always scraping around for money. She wanted to know how he could put something so trivial above his own family.

Her head was a muddle. A part of her was trying to reason that this was actually stupid, full on stupid. Yet curiosity was winning, and Jack had made it pretty clear; she could talk to the police but be left without answers, or she could talk to the police in the future, knowing exactly why she was there.

"Are you coming or not?" Daniel asked. Henley and Merritt were rushing about the room, packing bags.

Eden hesitated. There was a rhythmic banging coming from down the hallway. Someone was trying to break the front door down.

"I'm coming."


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N – All your reviews make me so happy, please keep them coming; don't be a silent reader! ;)**

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, favourited and followed so far. You guys are fab!**

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Chapter Four

Eden almost ran into the back of Henley as everyone came to a grinding halt, shoes crunching in the grit and rubbish littering the floor of the alley.

"What is it?" Jack asked quietly. He was holding up the rear, just behind Eden, her personal escort again apparently. He didn't sound half as breathless as Eden, but then again, he wasn't trying to run in heels.

"They've found our car," Daniel answered from the head of the line. The five of them were pressed up against the wall of the alley, breath puffing from their mouths in little clouds. Daniel was peering round the edge of the alleyway before his head quickly snapped out of sight of the road. "Back-up plan it is then."

"We should have been more prepared," Henley hissed at him.

Merritt sighed. He was stuck between the two of them. "Please let's not have a domestic right now."

"We _are_ prepared, Henley, that's why we have a back-up plan," Daniel retorted, trying to keep his cool. Eden just hoped they had a back-up plan for the back-up plan. It seemed like things weren't going the way they were meant to tonight. There was a rusty cog in the well-oiled machine that was the Four Horsemen, and Eden guessed she was that bad cog. "We take the subway."

"The tube," Eden found herself automatically correcting. They all looked to her. "The tube station is just down the road," she continued, trying to play it off like a nervous stutter. She wasn't cut out for this. The tension made her want to talk incessantly, as if that would ease it. In reality, it would probably just get them caught.

Daniel was frowning at her, but it looked more like he was concentrating than he was annoyed. "I take it you know your way around the tube well?"

Eden nodded. "Yeah. I hope you all have tickets, though."

Daniel allowed himself a smile as he fished four of them from the inside of his suit jacket. "Got it covered. You?"

Eden tapped the pocket of her blazer. Her oyster card was still there. She pulled it out and showed it to him. She never put it in her bag; too fiddly to keep diving in and out of your bag for your oyster card when trying to hurry through the turnstiles. If she had left her blazer at the Albert Hall like she had her bag then they'd have been out of options. There was no time to buy tickets.

On Daniel's signal, the five of them scurried across the road, careful to avoid the brightest patches of light the street lamps cast. Eden allowed herself a glance in the other direction. There were a number of dark figures crowded around a black SUV. Thankfully, none of them were looking this way. They'd looped round as they'd left the house via the back door. Whoever was after them was expecting them to be coming from the other direction.

They hurried in a line down the pavement, heading for the glowing sign of the tube station. During this getaway, Eden had been consciously aware of Jack behind her. Every now and then he'd lightly place a protective hand on her back or arm, ushering her along. She wondered now what exactly would have happened if she'd kicked him out of her cab just a few hours ago. Maybe nothing, maybe something she didn't want to know.

They paused beside the tube map outside the station entrance. Daniel was trailing his finger along the map, down the Piccadilly line from Kings Cross St. Pancras. Eden winced internally. Kings Cross might be an easy place to lose someone who was following you, but it would also be an easy place to lose a friend. She hoped they weren't planning on changing lines there.

She was about to voice this when Daniel gestured for them to get moving. She bottled it, keeping her thoughts to herself. They had to know what they were doing.

They all went through separate turnstiles to save time. As they hurried down the stairs, their footsteps echoing in the quiet station, Eden had to force herself not to glance over her shoulder. She felt like a child, adamant they were being watched by something in their wardrobe.

Jack was hurrying down the stairs beside her. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, revealing toned arms, an observation Eden thought wasn't entirely appropriate to make at a time like this. "Where are we going exactly?" she asked him.

He glanced at her. He didn't look worried, like Eden expected she looked. Instead, there was a sharpness to his expression. She realised it was a mix of determination and sheer thrill. "Kings Cross St. Pancras," he said, keeping his voice low. "We'll change to the Piccadilly line and take it all the way to Heathrow. That is if the feds don't meet us along the way. We might have to change lines and go in circles a bit."

Eden's lungs were starting to burn. She didn't know if it was from the exercise or the sudden fear that had gripped them like a vice. She stumbled on the final step and Jack, with quick reflexes, caught her. "Whoa, careful," he said, but Eden wasn't listening.

She found her fingers digging into his shoulders, holding on for dear life like he was about to be washed away from her. "Heathrow?" she asked.

"Yeah," he clarified nonchalantly.

She brought her eyes up to meet his. The nonchalance quickly faded from his face when he took note of her panicked expression.

"Heathrow," she repeated. This time it wasn't a question. "An airport. We're going to an airport."

He licked his lips nervously again. "Yeah, your dad was seen in New York, remember? Are you-"

"Hey! What's the hold up? The train's coming!" Merritt was paused just before the turning to the platform.

Jack took Eden's hand in his, walking towards Merritt, but Eden didn't budge. He stopped when he felt the tension of their interlocked hands trying to go in different directions. He looked back at her, and Eden couldn't deny she was a little bit glad to see that he finally looked worried.

But Heathrow? She hadn't twigged that agreeing to this would mean leaving the country. She didn't have her passport or a suitcase or anything. She didn't even know if she was fully in agreement with this whole thing anyway. Going to America with strangers in search of her long-lost father? It didn't really sound like something she should be doing.

Merritt seemed to know what she was thinking. "You can't back out now, sweetheart. Don't worry about anything; we have it all sorted."

What about her mum, her friends, her boss? They'd think she'd gone missing, they'd phone the police. She had to at least contact one of them.

"Do any of you have a phone?" she asked. "I wanna tell my mum that I'm safe."

"Yeah, here." Jack fished in his trouser pockets and handed her a cheap phone.

"Just don't tell her any major details, okay?" Merritt said. Eden nodded. "Okay, now come on."

Eden numbly let Jack drag her onto the platform as the train came barrelling into the station with a roar and a whoosh of air. The five of them got into a mostly empty carriage. Eden dropped into a seat, trying her best to type out a message to her mum without saying anything that might worry her.

_Mum, it's Eden. Please don't worry. I've gone to look for Dad. I know he was a magician, and I know why he disappeared. I can't really explain, but this is something I have to do. I'm perfectly safe. I'll be back soon. Show this to Maisie, yeah? And give my boss a good excuse? Thanks Mum, I love you._

Eden typed in her Mum's number and pressed send. She immediately regretted it. The message had sounded feeble, useless. How could a text be of any comfort to her mum? It would have to do. She was involved in this now whether she liked it or not.

They sat in silence for most of the journey to Kings Cross. Eden asked if they wanted her to lead the way at the station seeing as changing lines there could be a bit confusing. Daniel looked a bit like he wanted to protest, but Henley interrupted and said it would be a great help. Eden felt that maybe if she were to actively do something then she might feel more a part of it. Maybe it would make her feel like she was doing the right thing.

When they reached Kings Cross, Eden was first off the train. She took a moment to gather her bearings. It was much busier here. She began to lead the way, heading for the Piccadilly line. At one point they almost got separated, and despite herself Eden fumbled for Jack's hand. She didn't want to be on her own in this.

She thought everything was going alright until Jack suddenly yanked her to the side.

"Piccadilly is that way!" she protested, pointing towards the direction she had been heading in.

But Jack's only reply was, "They've spotted us!"

Eden hurriedly looked around. Sure enough, there were a gaggle of men in suits gesturing wildly in their direction. But there was no sign of Daniel, Henley and Merritt.

"Jack!" she said, tugging on his hand. "We've lost the others."

Jack stopped and spun in a full circle, searching frantically. He pointed. "They're over there. They must have seen the feds too. They'll lead them off, take a different route."

They started moving again. Eden didn't like this, not at all. Her heart was going mad. There were suddenly too many people on the planet. She needed space, she needed fresh air, but there was nothing of the sort as they headed from the station proper into the underground. She looked over her shoulder, and her heart almost threw itself into her throat. Most of the agents had gone in pursuit of Daniel, Henley and Merritt, but there were two battling their way through the crowd to try and reach her and Jack.

"They're still following us," she told Jack. She could hear the desperation in her own voice. It was safe to say she'd never been pursued by the authorities whilst holding hands with a boy she barely knew. Her life had always been normal and average and boring, and she had wished something exciting would happen for once. Yet now she'd got what she'd wished for, and she didn't know exactly how she felt about it.

Jack picked up pace, darting in between people. He shoved his way to the front of the shortest queue for one of the turnstiles, ignoring the irritated huffs from those waiting. The two of them rushed through, and Eden heard the familiar sound of tube trains slowing into platforms. It was the sound of home, and now the sound of her escape.

When they turned onto the platform they wanted, Eden almost groaned in despair. She glanced up at the red writing trailing along a little screen. One minute till the next train arrived.

Jack showed no signs of letting go of her hand. Eden grimaced as she felt her palm getting sweatier, but he didn't seem to care. Instead he relaxed his posture, stopped bouncing on the balls of his feet. He glanced around casually, as though he were bored waiting for the train. Eden tried to emulate him; better not to draw suspicion on themselves. Even as she attempted to relax, she couldn't stop her heart beating so hard that the material of her dress twitched against her chest in time to her pulse.

There was a rumble as the train approached the platform. People began to arrange themselves, guessing where the nearest doors would be. Eden didn't notice how she tightened her grip on Jack's hand in apprehension.

A shout came from not far behind them. It had come from around the corner so they couldn't see, but Eden guessed the agents were closing in on them.

There was a tiny rush of relief as two headlights appeared in the mouth of the tunnel. The train materialised, sliding to a stop. The doors opened and the people inside spilled out. Jack edged the two of them closer to the nearest set of doors, impatiently waiting for everyone to get off. Then came their turn to climb aboard.

"Where are the others?" Eden asked as they squeezed into a gap at the back. Jack finally dropped her hand to grab onto a railing, and Eden did the same. She couldn't deny that action made her feel separated from him, like she was on her own in all this.

"It's fine," Jack reassured her. "They can get the next train and meet us at the airport. They might even be on one of the other carriages." The corners of his mouth curved into a confident smile. "It's fine, it's all going to plan."

"I'll take your word for it," Eden muttered. Jack heard her and laughed quietly.

His smile quickly faded though as, outside the carriage, two men in suits rushed onto the platform. The train admitted a shrill beeping and Eden held her breath, shrinking away from the open doors. The agents looked around wildly, trying to spot which carriage Eden and Jack were in. One caught sight of them and pointed, but just as they charged forwards all the train doors closed in unison. The train began to pull away. The agents smacked against the doors and windows, their shouts muffled, but it was too late, the train was on its way.

Eden and Jack were on their way.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N – once again thanks for all the follows and favourites, they've been coming in thick and fast, glad you're enjoying the story! And thank you for all the lovely reviews, every time I receive one they really make my day. Keep 'em coming! This chapter is a little shorter, but I'm going to Italy for a wedding and I need time to work out exactly what I'm doing with the next chapter. Hang tight and I'll update soon!**

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Chapter Five

The tube was heaving with people. At each stop, that soft, cheerful, female voice would announce the name of the station and the place where the train would terminate. Her amiable tone felt all wrong as Eden's head swam; even more so every time the word 'Heathrow' was mentioned. Eden may have always suffered from bouts of wanderlust, but this wasn't the kind of impromptu getaway she had dreamt of. This was escaping danger. This was running away.

And it wasn't like she was travelling blissfully alone or with a close friend either. No. Here she was, jammed into a corner of a crowded tube carriage, uncomfortably close to a young man she'd only known a few hours. Sharing transport seemed to be their thing, whether it was him diving into her cab, directing her through a busy train station or dragging her onto the tube. Eden was tempted to ask him to pinch her arm, see if she were dreaming, but every time she glanced at him, at his thick eyebrows and sculpted cheekbones and slightly pouty lips that all made her a little jealous, she found herself swallowing her weak, childish attempt at humour. Lightening the situation seemed beyond her now. Adrenaline was her only mode.

The tube pulled away from Piccadilly Circus, bodies packed inside. If Jack turned a little then he'd be entirely pressed against Eden. One arm was raised above his head, holding onto a bar for support. It left Eden cocooned in the corner, gripping nothing, leaning into the walls and doors and sometimes even Jack, albeit carefully, to keep from toppling over.

Green Park was the next stop. With each station they entered, Eden's fear didn't ebb but rather intensified. The agents would have to intercept them soon. This wasn't a glossy, fool-proof escape plan, only highlighted by the fact Eden and Jack still had no idea where Daniel, Henley and Merritt were.

Jack, picking up on her restlessness, turned to her with a lopsided smirk and said, "Don't look so nervous."

Eden tried a smile, but she was pretty sure it must have looked like a grimace to him. "Sorry. I just don't know how much longer we're gonna get away with this."

Jack's smile faltered, just a little, like a flickering light bulb, but he kept it beaming. "I know what you mean, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. If they're waiting for us at the next stop then we can make a break for it, take a detour to Heathrow. I have some tricks up my sleeve; we'll be fine."

Eden didn't doubt that Jack had some tricks, but she didn't see how stopping the agents to 'pick a card, any card' would get them out safely.

"Does this make me a criminal?" Eden wanted to take the words back, especially when Jack's head tipped back as he laughed.

"You're a fugitive now," he said. Eden sensed he was only half mocking her. "But it's all for a good cause, isn't it?"

Eden stopped the shrug before it began. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"Once you're on that plane you'll feel better about this, I promise," he reassured her. His brown eyes were warm and sincere.

"I still don't understand how catching a plane to New York is even gonna work-"

"A magician has his secrets," Jack interrupted her with another smirk. "Just trust us."

Eden had no choice but to do just that.

The train stopped at Green Park. There were no sudden shouts, no arms flailing as people were knocked aside. They were safe for another stop at least. Hyde Park Corner was up next. Eden transferred her weight from one foot to the next. Her stomach was churning with anticipation. She felt like their luck was running out, spreading thin like too little butter for too much bread.

Eden's feeling was right.

The train dragged itself out of Hyde Park Corner without incident. Eden and Jack thought they had got away from another stop untroubled. Yet if that group of rowdy drunken men hadn't got on at Hyde Park Corner, then Eden would never have had cause to curiously peer past Jack to watch them sing a football chant, and she would never have got a clear view through the inner door into the next carriage.

And she would never have seen the three agents pushing their way through people on the other side.

"Shit." Eden snapped her head back, burrowing herself into the little corner of safety she had. Jack looked at her, brow furrowed. "Three agents in the next carriage over, heading for the inner door."

Jack's eyes widened. He was on high alert again. He peered behind him for a better look. "Okay," he said, turning back to Eden. He raised his arm a little higher, positioned his body so that his back was facing the rest of the carriage.

"What are we gonna do?" Eden asked, keeping her voice quiet, but it came out breathy and panicked.

Jack's breath was warm on her face as he leaned over her. "Just leave it to me."

The tube was pulling into Knightsbridge. There was a chance they could make a run for it, but Eden didn't know if she were up for any more running.

The train stopped completely, the doors sliding open at the same time the inner door did. A couple of people got off, but the carriage remained tightly packed. Jack seemed to be making up his mind.

Eden could only partially make out what was going on behind him. The inner door was closest to the drunken men. They were howling with laughter about something, but as soon as one of the agents roughly forced them aside, fighting to get through, their laughter died.

Eden knew that everyone in the carriage could sense it, could feel the impending fight. The drunks were big, looked to be a group of rugby lads. A part of Eden really hoped they'd try and take on the agents, because at least then her and Jack wouldn't have to, or rather Jack wouldn't. He was still leaning over her, eyes looking elsewhere as he listened in.

"Step aside," one of the agents was firmly telling the rugby lads, but they were having none of it.

Eden heard the first punch rather than saw it, a sickening crunch and a wet slap like a slab of meat hitting the counter in the butcher's.

That was Jack's cue to move. He grabbed Eden's hand again and she was shocked at how that one gesture instantly made her feel that tiny bit safer. He turned, dragging Eden behind him as he quietly muttered "excuse me", people slow to move as they dumbly watched the ensuing fight. The doors were beeping, the train ready to leave. Eden didn't think they were going to make it out.

And that feeling intensified as she heard the shout of, "There they are!"

She glanced over her shoulder. One of the agents was pointing directly at her.

Jack's grip on her hand tightened and he roughly pulled her onto the empty platform. They started walking briskly, heading for the stairs that would take them aboveground. Eden looked behind her again, expecting to see the train pulling away as the beeping stopped. Yet just as the doors closed, an arm wedged itself in the middle. The doors opened again and the agents spilled out, untangling themselves from the rugby lads who shouted abuse after them.

Luck had finally run out.

"Go, Jack!" Eden called out desperately, pushing at him. He didn't need to be told twice. He broke into a run.

The two of them clattered up the stairs, the sounds of the road up top, the bustling of normal life, just metres away.

But the agents were hot on their heels, their footsteps echoing off the tiled walls, making it sound like there were dozens of them.

Eden knew she was slowing Jack down. She was in heels, for a start. She had thought about ditching them, but then running in bare feet was just as painful. Now she had no clue what to do, and if this wild adventure of theirs failed before it had even taken off then she'd never live it down, she'd never stop reminding herself that she was the fuck up.

At the top of the stairs, Eden took great lungfuls of fresh air. They were out in the open again, a great city they could get lost in, or lose someone in. In that split second when her legs no longer had to climb, she prepared herself to run flat out again, but it didn't happen. Instead, Jack spun around to face the stairs, whirling Eden behind him. It all happened so fast, she barely registered Jack's fist connecting with an agent's face.

Eden stumbled backwards from the sheer shock of it, whilst Jack had already ducked a counter blow and whipped another agent's arms behind his back, sending the man sprawling down the stairs. The agent who had taken the first punch landed his retaliation with a fist to Jack's gut, winding him.

That's when Eden realised she couldn't stand there like a rabbit in the headlights. It was time to lose the shoes. She grabbed one of her heels and, forcing herself not to think about it, stepped forward to strike one of the agents across the face with the stiletto heel. The force of the blow made pain shoot up her arm, and the shoe slipped from her grasp, but it did its job. It allowed Jack just enough time to regain his breath and pound his fist against the gouge in the agent's cheek. He fell backwards, following his friend down the stairs, while Jack finished off the broken nosed agent with a vicious swipe to the side of his head and a knee in the abdomen.

Jack didn't wait around for them to get back up. He reached for Eden's trembling hand as she kicked off her other shoe.

They had just started running again, Eden desperately trying to stop herself from shaking, when an SUV screeched to a stop beside them, bouncing onto the curb. Horns blared angrily, and Eden felt her stomach twist at the thought of more agents, another fight.

But as the passenger door opened, a feeling of relief flooded through her. Merritt grinned at them. "We stole a ride," he said. "Now get in the back, we have a plane to catch."


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N – I'm back from Italy and I returned to a ton of emails about follows and favourites so thank you! The last chapter was a little short as I didn't have much time, so I tried to make this longer. Thanks for all the really sweet reviews, please keep them coming, don't be a silent reader. ;)**

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Chapter Six

Plane toilets sucked. Actually being in that tiny box of a room to relieve yourself was difficult enough, so it was safe to say that getting changed in there was even harder. Eden kept banging her elbows and shoulders and knees against the walls and doors and sink, and she had an irrational fear that she was going to fall into the toilet and it would suck her down of its own accord.

She couldn't quite believe she was here. They'd screeched to a stop outside Terminal 5, abandoning the stolen FBI car to be clamped. Outside the building, Dylan Rhodes had been waiting for them with a little army of suitcases. There had been time for the briefest of introductions before Eden had been whisked through baggage drop-off and passport control not really knowing what was going on. She'd barely had time to ask this Dylan Rhodes how and when he'd managed to make her a fake passport, and even then she'd been met with a knowing smile and a cryptic answer.

Eden looked at herself in the tiny bathroom mirror. She was in a private jet wearing clothes she didn't own as she hurtled towards a new country with a group of strangers. Everything about her life now felt foreign, alien. Home was a distant memory.

A knock on the door. Jack's voice calling her name sounded faraway, but then again all sounds on planes seemed muffled. She fluffed her hair up a bit. The curls had dropped into waves now. Her make-up was a bit smudged but she didn't have anything to touch it up with. She was at least glad to be out of that dress and heels. Even if this jumper and skinny jeans and Converse weren't hers, they felt like they could be. A tiny bit of something like home had come with her after all.

Eden opened the door to find Jack leaning casually against the wall opposite. He stood up straight when she emerged, uncrossing his arms. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

In truth, she felt a little weak, the adrenaline draining from her system. She'd stopped shaking at least, but she couldn't shake the image of her stiletto heel gouging out a gash in that agent's cheek.

"You sure?" Jack asked with a smile. The two of them swapped places, but still Jack didn't shut the toilet door.

"Yeah, just tired is all," she answered.

Eden didn't know if Jack believed her or not. Probably not, because the toilet door was still open. "Thanks for helping out earlier, you know. That's the second time in one day you've saved me from getting my ass kicked."

Eden laughed lightly. She felt a little better for it, but trying to find humour was proving difficult. "No problem."

"You did pretty well for your first fight," Jack teased.

"How are you so sure it was my first?" Eden retorted. This time her laugh came out a little easier. She just needed to relax, let go. The sooner she accepted this was the direction her life was heading in, the better.

"Sloppy footwork," Jack said with a grin, "that's how."

Back in her seat, Eden tried to discern the dark clouds outside the window, but all she could see was her bright reflection peering back. Merritt was sat in the aisle across from her. He flashed her a smile when she glanced at him. The real conversation was going on the next row over. Henley and Daniel were talking quietly with this Dylan Rhodes man. He had one of those friendly faces, one that you immediately trusted, but under these circumstances Eden wasn't so quick to place her confidence in him.

After a few moments, the three of them noticed her watching. They exchanged glances. Eden was two seconds away from screaming at the top of her lungs for them to just tell her. Whatever it was, she wanted to know, and she wanted to know now. No more secrets.

Jack returned from the toilet and took his seat beside Eden. As if on queue, Dylan Rhodes slipped into the seat opposite. He placed his hands on the table, his fingers intertwined.

"This must all seem a little crazy to you, right?" he said.

"Just a bit." It came out sharper than Eden had intended, and she fidgeted in her seat awkwardly. Merritt was watching from across the aisle, as was Henley. Daniel was still stood up, watching over proceedings like a puppet master. But Eden got the feeling he wasn't the one calling the shots here.

"I guess I'll just get straight to the point then," Dylan Rhodes replied. "My name is Dylan and I'm in the Eye. It's a secret organisation centred around magic and illusion. Now I can't really tell you all about it, after all it is secret, but the others here told you your father, a magician, was a part of it, and he stole something important. In fact, he stole something very old and very valuable."

"What exactly?" Eden asked. Waves of nervous heat were surging through her skin.

"Documents," Dylan answered. "Now that might sound like a bit of an anticlimax but really it isn't. These documents were old, very old. The Eye goes back thousands of years, back as far as the Ancient Egyptians. These documents came in a variety of forms. Scrolls, tablets, paintings, books, but they detail the source of all magic, all illusion."

Eden raised an eyebrow. "What, like Merlin and witchcraft and flying carpets?"

Dylan smiled. "No, not like that; it's a lot more complicated. You haven't been initiated into the Eye so I can't really go into detail, but by the end of this you'll probably be the only non-initiate to know as much about it as any member."

"But magic?" Eden said. Her mind was still trying to reject those photos and articles she'd seen on her father. How could any of this exist?

"I know it's hard to believe," Dylan replied, "but things will become a lot clearer. Right now, though, I'm guessing you're here more to find your dad than learn about magic."

Eden nodded.

"Then leave the magic to us," Dylan said. "You can focus on finding your father."

He was right. Eden was here to get answers, to locate the man that had walked out on his only daughter all those years ago. The magic came second, yet she couldn't deny it made her feel less in control. She was reliant on these five 'magicians'. She was here because of them. She had tried, and failed, to search for her father numerous times, but had always come up short. Now she might finally be getting somewhere, but at a cost to her way of life.

* * *

New York City. The Big Apple. A city that looked absolutely nothing like its older counterpart, its namesake. Eden had never been to NYC before. She tried to imagine she was on holiday with friends, but then Henley was ushering her into one of two waiting cabs, and she was squeezing in beside Jack, and they were joining the New York traffic.

Along the way she pointed things out to Jack and asked him about them. He was happy to explain things to her, and for a while his bright smile was just enough to keep her occupied. She was in New York, she was satisfying her wanderlust to the extreme; better she enjoy it and face the consequences when she got home. If she got home.

The cabs pulled up outside an apartment building, all glass and sharp corners and minimalism. They squeezed into the elevators and rode them up to a penthouse apartment where the wheels of their suitcases rolled satisfyingly on the polished floors. Eden had expected a grubby little flat, maybe a mediocre hotel, just not this, definitely not this.

Yet she didn't have time to look around. Any feeling that this was some kind of holiday quickly died when everyone spread themselves out on the sofas. Merritt gestured for Eden to sit beside him.

"Do we have to do this now?" Henley asked. "Can't we at least let Eden rest first?"

Daniel shook his head. "No. We need to get started now in case we have to leave."

"Daniel's right," Dylan agreed. "I don't think we can stay here for long. The FBI will definitely know you've left London by now; they might even know you're in New York. It's just a matter of time."

"Do what?" Eden finally worked herself up to ask, a little late.

"Hypnosis," Daniel told her. "We can start looking for any clues your father embedded in your mind."

She couldn't deny a small part of her bristled with nervous excitement at the thought. She had always wondered what hypnosis would feel like. But was now the right time? She was tired, homesick, still confused.

Yet she turned to Merritt when he asked her. "While you're under, I'm gonna ask you some questions," he explained. "You won't remember them, but they'll hopefully call to mind some memories, something that might be useful. I'd like to start with the day your dad left, if that's alright with you?"

Eden swallowed and nodded. It would have to be.

She knew from the show not to expect the whole 'you're beginning to feel very sleepy' speech from him. He simply looked into her eyes, and with one subtle hand gesture and the word 'sleep', she was cast into limbo.

* * *

She awoke with a terrible feeling of dread, sitting in the pit of her stomach like an anchor. Everyone was staring, waiting expectantly. She had the barest whisper of the words Merritt had spoken brushing against her consciousness. It took her a few seconds longer to remember everything else.

"What did you see?" Merritt asked her.

Eden's throat felt dry. She needed water. "My dad. The day he left. Stood in the doorway."

"What exactly happened that day?" Daniel asked. He was watching her intently, his brow furrowed.

"I was eating breakfast," Eden began. "He was about to leave for work. He said goodbye like always and... that was it."

"That was it?" Daniel answered a little sharply. Eden felt heat rising in her cheeks. "He didn't say anything else?"

Eden sighed. "He made some comment about the programme I was watching, nothing major."

"What were you watching?"

"The Powerpuff Girls," Eden answered a little reluctantly. She couldn't see how children's programmes would be any help.

"What did he say about it?"

Eden could feel her cheeks starting to burn. "It was that episode where that tiny guy sucks information out of people's heads. Dad joked he wished he could do it, that it would be useful."

Jack snorted, but he quickly hid his smile when Daniel shot him a look. "That's it?" Daniel asked.

"That's it."

Merritt sighed. "This might take some more working out than we thought."

"I was seven when he left," Eden told them. She felt irritated, like she'd failed before she'd even started. "Nothing overly important happened back then."

"Let's do this in the morning," Henley said. She moved for the white stairs that wound up through the apartment. The thought of finally getting to sleep washed away a little of Eden's annoyance. "Come on Eden, I'll show you to your room. We'll leave the boys to work it out."


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N – thanks for all the continuing support, it means the world! Last chapter was a bit of an infodump, so in this one I've started on some Jack/OC, I think it's time to get going with that. Enjoy, and let me know what you think! All suggestions are welcome. ;)**

* * *

Chapter Seven

Eden woke with a start. She felt sweaty, disgusting. Even her face felt damp. It took her a moment to realise that was from crying. She had been crying in her sleep. Again.

She sat up and sighed, wiping the tear stains from her cheeks. The room was dark except for the glowing square that was her window, the blinds not doing much to block out the city lights. For a moment she felt a pang of homesickness. If she were in her flat, back in London, she wouldn't have that problem. First thing she had done when she'd moved in was to get Nick to help her put up the blackout blind. She slept better in complete darkness.

She jumped for the second time in less than a minute when there came a soft knock at the door. She sat there awkwardly for a moment, duvet bunched around her, before quietly calling out, "Yeah?"

The door opened a crack. The hallway light wasn't on, so Eden could see nothing but an inky silhouette. Her heart fluttered in panic before she reminded herself that no murderer would knock before entering.

"Are you okay?" Jack. His voice sounded sleepy, croaky. Eden relaxed a little.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"I thought I heard you crying," he said, and immediately Eden tensed again. She hadn't realised she'd been crying that loud. She hadn't realised she'd been crying at all till something startled her awake.

She laughed nervously. "Oh, I was crying in my sleep."

Jack stepped into the room, moving to shut the door behind him. Eden leant across to the bedside table and switched the light on, squinting in the sudden glow. "You cry in your sleep?" he asked, and the hint of a laugh in his voice actually made her feel a bit better.

"Yeah. If I'm crying in my dream, sometimes I end up crying out loud and I don't realise," she answered. Jack hovered a little uncertainly at the edge of the room. Even with his short hair he'd somehow managed to give himself a bed head, and he was dressed in grey trackies and a simple white t-shirt. Eden gestured for him to sit.

"Does that happen a lot?" he asked, sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed.

Eden shrugged. "Not a lot. Like every few months or something. Just depends on the dream. And if I'm crying in my dream I don't always end up crying out loud." She frowned, feeling a little self-conscious. "I can't be the only one who cries in their sleep."

Jack laughed. "Well it's never happened to me, and I've never heard anyone else mention it."

Eden rubbed at her face again, hoping to get rid of any remains of her tears. "Guess it's just me then."

Jack's smile began to fade. Eden knew what he was going to ask before the words left his mouth, but still there wasn't enough time to plan her answer. "What were you dreaming about?"

Eden shrugged again. "It was just a really weird dream. My Dad was there and stuff and it just didn't make sense, to be honest."

"Well, my dream was we were on the subway again, the tube, but the tunnels and the trains just kept on going round in circles; it was like a maze," Jack said, and as his smile returned Eden found hers did too. She was glad he hadn't tried to ask her anything else.

"There has to be a meaning behind that one somewhere," she said.

"Maybe, but I don't think I wanna find out." Jack clambered off the bed. "I'm gonna get a glass of water. You want one?"

"I'll come with you," Eden said, throwing the duvet covers off her. Her pyjamas were just some shorts and a t-shirt Henley had given her, and stepping out from the ball of warmth that was the duvet made goosebumps rise up on her bare legs.

She followed Jack downstairs. The lights of New York illuminated the open plan ground floor. If she could make her flat in London look like this then she would, but Eden would never have the money to afford it. Better to enjoy this apartment while she was in it. Jack didn't turn on the lights and Eden was glad. She liked the cosy glow the city provided.

"Did you lot have any luck working out any clues in my memory or whatever?" Eden asked, taking the glass Jack offered her.

His smile was enough to light the room itself. "Aside from your dad wanting to recreate The Powerpuff Girls or some shit like that, no, we got nothing."

Eden laughed. "Was Daniel annoyed? He didn't look too happy before I went upstairs."

Jack waved her words away. "That's just Daniel for you. He's a bit uptight, but he's a nice guy really."

Eden glanced at the floor to ceiling windows. Outside was a riot of blacks and yellows and oranges and reds and greens. "Kinda doesn't feel real," she said, "being here. Can't quite believe I agreed to it."

The two of them stood side by side, forearms resting on the marble counter-top, eyes trained on New York. Jack's arm brushed hers for a moment. He was warm, but his touch only made the hairs on her arms rise. "I felt the same back when this whole thing started," Jack replied. "I'm talking about when I actually met Daniel and Henley and Merritt. I was a street magician before that. Well, semi-criminal street magician." Eden raised an eyebrow at him and he shot her a sly smile. "A guy's gotta eat, you know. But then the Four Horsemen happened, and suddenly I was staying in places like this and we were throwing millions of dollars at people instead of keeping it for ourselves and money just kinda became... obsolete. It was all I thought about before, but now it's nothing. Magic tricks and all that are still my life, but now they keep me alive in a different way."

"How did you guys even meet?" Eden asked him.

"Dylan," Jack replied. "Dylan was in the Eye. He brought us together."

"Did he pioneer all of this too?"

Jack nodded. "Pretty much. The man's a genius. Any time I think I'm one step ahead of him I'm actually three steps behind."

Eden laughed. "That's how I feel around you."

Jack glanced at her, but instead of a smart arse response he said, "Seriously?"

"Yeah," Eden answered. "When you beat up those agents I could barely see what was going on; you were a blur."

Jack grinned. "You weren't too bad yourself. I didn't see that stiletto coming, and I don't think the agent did either."

There was a brief moment of nausea. Eden pushed it aside, but still she grimaced. "Ugh, don't remind me of that."

"You'll have to get used to it," Jack said, and then almost as an afterthought he added, "hey, why don't I teach you some moves?"

"What, like martial arts?" Eden asked, suddenly feeling a little apprehensive. She wasn't the most coordinated person in the world.

"Just some self-defence stuff." Jack stood up straight. "Come on," he said, dragging out the words.

Eden couldn't lie; resisting that smile of his was pretty hard. A little reluctantly, she pushed away from the counter. "Nothing too bendy or fast, okay?"

"Okay," Jack said, looking a bit too eager for someone who was awake at three in the morning. "First move is simple. If someone grabs you, drive the heel of your hand up into their nose."

Eden grimaced. She knew how that would feel against her hand. She'd broken a friend's nose before, by accident, and the feeling of their nose cracking and squishing beneath her hand was something she'd never forgotten.

Jack smiled at her expression. "I promise you won't be feeling squeamish when someone's actually attacking you."

Eden wasn't so sure about that. "I'll take your word for it."

"Okay, wanna give it a try?" Jack asked.

"What am I doing again?"

He rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling as ever. "This," he said, and slowly brought the heel of his hand up towards her nose, stopping before he touched her. "Ready?"

"Ready."

"Don't actually hit me," Jack quickly added.

It was Eden's turn to roll her eyes. "I'm not that stupid, Jack."

"I'll take your word for it," he answered, mimicking her, and Eden struggled to hide her smile.

Jack grabbed her left arm, and on cue Eden raised her other arm, heel of her hand pointing up, when Jack suddenly grabbed that arm too, his grip harder. She frowned at him. "I thought-"

He quickly shushed her. That was when Eden noticed he was no longer looking at her. His eyes were a little glazed over as he focussed all his concentration on his hearing.

"What is it?" Eden asked him quietly.

He remained silent for a little longer. "I think we need to leave."

"If you heard something, it might have just been one of the others," she said. His sudden change in tone and posture made her nervous. He was on edge, on guard.

Jack shook his head. "No, it was something else."

His hand slipped down her arm to take her hand and he pulled her towards the front door of the apartment. He peered through the spy hole and almost immediately recoiled. Eden opened her mouth to ask what the hell was going on but Jack looked directly at her, eyes wide and alert, a finger to his lips.

He pulled her towards the stairs. It was just as they started to climb that the front door gave its first shudder, hinges screeching, wood beginning to cave in.

They'd been found.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N – sorry for the delay but I've been crazy busy. Got into university, passed my driving test, been out and about. But while I've been on this mini hiatus I've had a flood of emails from people following and favouriting this fanfic so thank you so much for all that! It gave me the motivation to come back to this. Thanks to all the reviewers, your words mean the world to me. Bear with me, I'm feeling a little rusty, so let me know what you think!**

**HalfMaskedWholeHeart: I haven't really thought about what celebrity Eden would look like. She doesn't really look like any I know in my head. But if I had to say anyone then I'd say maybe Faye Marsay? :)**

* * *

Chapter Eight

They hit the landing at a run.

Adrenaline made Eden feel sick. She wanted to sit down and breathe at the same time as she wanted to run and never stop running.

"Guys!" Jack called out, racing ahead of her, his hand still firmly gripping hers. He looked in each of the rooms in turn but the beds were empty. It didn't make any sense.

Yet it was just as they were passing Daniel's room that a hand snatched at them, dragging Jack through the door by his t-shirt.

The two of them stumbled into the room to find themselves staring at their own wild reflections. Daniel was stood beside the mirror, which itself was jutting out from the wall, no longer propped up against it.

Jack pointed at it. "That wasn't there before."

"Oh, really?" Daniel's voice dripped with sarcasm as he ushered the two of them round the side of the mirror. Instead of finding a patch of bare wall, they found themselves being pushed into a room, the walls made of metal and inlaid with glowing screens and buttons.

"Holy shit," Jack breathed.

Eden could only stare. The room went back a lot further than she thought was possible. There were sofas and armchairs identical to the ones downstairs; even a TV and music system.

"Is this a panic room?" she asked.

The answer became apparent immediately when Daniel slammed a button on the wall and a heavy metal door slid shut. A light thump came momentarily later as Eden guessed the mirror went back into place.

She was so busy taking in the details of the room that she almost forgot Jack was still holding her hand. In the last few hours it was like someone had placed magnets in their palms. She dropped his hand first, aware that hers was beginning to become a little sweaty with nerves.

Merritt was leaning against the wall beside the monitors. At first glance he looked casual, but there was a rigidity to his posture.

Eden stepped closer to the screens. Daniel was rushing about behind her, hastily chatting away at Henley, but his words washed over her as she watched the scene unfold in the apartment beyond their little panic room.

Armed police were spilling through the front door. The door itself was on the floor, caved in. Eden looked to the screen that showed the living area and her breath stuck in her throat. Dylan Rhodes was downstairs.

She half-turned as if to tell the others, but then she looked more closely. The police weren't hounding him. They didn't have him on the floor, arms wrenched behind his back. No, he was just standing amidst them as if he belonged. It even looked like he was directing them, his mouth moving in silent speech, his arm outstretched and pointing.

Eden glanced at Merritt. "What's Dylan doing down there?"

Merritt smiled. "Let's just say Dylan leads a double life."

Her eyes widened. "He's in the police?"

"He's an FBI agent."

"Well why isn't he keeping them off your tail then?"

"He's gotta keep up appearances," Merritt answered. "Besides, where's the fun in that?"

Eden guessed Dylan must have left sometime after she'd gone to bed, only to be woken up about a raid on an apartment or what not. It all sounded like too much lying to her. She had to admit she was a good liar, but not on this scale. The thought filled her with a new-found respect for him.

"What's the plan now then?" Eden asked, turning her back on the monitors. "We wait for the police to leave?"

"Or wait for them to find us," Henley added under her breath.

Daniel shot her a look. He seemed a little stressed. Stressed and tired. "They won't find us. We got this apartment specifically for the panic room in case something like this happened. The room isn't on the layouts; they don't know it exists."

"But still," Henley argued, "this was meant to be a last resort. It was never meant to come to this, us hiding in a panic room. Everything we've planned has been unravelling from the very beginning. Even Dylan didn't have time to warn us."

Eden looked on, her gut squirming. This wasn't the first time Henley had said something like this. Eden didn't like how someone who seemed so usually calm could suddenly turn. It didn't exactly fill Eden with confidence.

Daniel stood in the centre of the room, hands on his hips, eyes fixed on the floor as he mulled over Henley's words.

But it was Merritt who spoke first. "Someone's working against us."

Daniel nodded. "And I think I know who."

"My father." Eden said the words without really thinking. She hadn't needed to think. She knew.

They all looked to her. She could see in their eyes that they agreed, and she could see that they were sorry. Her own dad seemed to be working against her, undermining her efforts to find him.

She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "This is ridiculous."

"You're telling me," Merritt quipped.

"But how does he know?" Daniel went on. "It's like he's one step ahead of us and we haven't even got started yet."

Jack shrugged. "He's better than we thought. I mean, the guy stole artefacts from the Eye. Like, who even does that?"

He suddenly glanced at Eden, as if worried he'd offended her, but she just shrugged in turn. "I don't even know who he is any more."

They all stood around awkwardly for a moment until Merritt made the first move, shuffling over to the sofas and throwing himself onto one. "Might as well just wait this one out. Sorry, no car chases today, folks."

A wave of tiredness hit Eden like a brick wall. She'd had barely any sleep, and the adrenaline that had been pumped into her veins was already beginning to ebb. Tonight was going to be a long one.

She collapsed on another of the sofas, her limbs sagging. Merritt already had his eyes closed. Daniel was babbling in the background. "All our stuff is out there. They're gonna know we were here, at least."

Over the top of it came Henley's voice, more soothing now, as she took her place on the last remaining sofa. "There's nothing we can do about it, Daniel."

By the sounds of things, the Four Horsemen weren't used to losing control.

Eden had just closed her eyes when someone grabbed her legs, lifting them up. She opened her eyes to see Jack moving to sit on her sofa. He let her legs fall on top of his and tipped his head back, directing a lazy smile her way, his eyes just slits. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," she answered, an involuntarily smile pulling at her lips. He felt warm, her own little radiator.

"Good."

* * *

She didn't know how much time had passed, whether it was one minute or one hour, when Daniel's voice cut through the silence. "Oh God," he said, sounding, to all intents and purposes, defeated.

"What is it now?" Merritt croaked.

"They're arresting Dylan."

"What?"

Eden's eyes flew open. She sat up, peering over the top of the sofa to see Daniel stood by the monitors, his face practically pressed against a screen.

"Arresting him?" she asked, her speech a little slurred.

"What? What for?" Henley was off the sofa in seconds, hurrying towards the screens, Merritt hot on her heels.

Eden gently shook Jack awake. His head snapped up and he grimaced, rubbing the back of it. "Come on," she said to him, getting up. The adrenaline was back in her veins.

"What's happening?" he asked, following her.

"Dylan's being arrested," Daniel said. Now he sounded angry.

"Please tell me this is part of your plan," Eden said to him, but he only shook his head.

"I wish I could."

The first thing Eden saw was Dylan, stood in what seemed to be the room just outside that thick metal door. Eden glanced towards it momentarily, but she couldn't hear anything from the other side.

"Where's the speaker button?" Daniel snapped.

"There," Henley said, pressing it, and the tinny speakers came to life.

_"__Hey, you can't do this, Cowan!" _Dylan was shouting at another agent, who only stood watching on placidly in the face of Dylan's struggling.

_"__We're taking you off this case, Rhodes, and that's final. You were never meant to be put back on it," _Cowan said.

_"__Oh, why, because I did a better job at trying to solve it than you ever did?" _Dylan retorted. _"And what about this guy? I thought foreign agents had no jurisdiction here, or at least that's what happened with Alma Dray."_

Even the grainy image couldn't hide Cowan's smirk. _"We have reason to believe a British national is now involved in this case so, yes, Agent White does have jurisdiction here."_

Dylan looked like he was about to say something else, but apparently thought better of it. Instead, he grudgingly allowed two agents to escort him from the room. The Four Horsemen and Eden watched on. There was a strange detachedness about it, like it wasn't really happening. Dylan left the apartment, and their plans went with him.

"Is it just me or have things only gone from bad to worse?" Merritt asked.

Henley sighed. "It's not just you, Merritt."

"What now?" Jack asked. He was still radiating heat, but it wasn't so comforting to Eden any more.

"We get the hell out of here," Dylan said.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N – whoooooa over a hundred follows! Seems like yesterday that I was only just posting this fic, and we're not even halfway through yet! Thanks so much for the continuing support. The plot for this is a lot harder to work out than you'd think, so keep the reviews coming, I'd love to know your thoughts!**

**Sam0728: don't worry, Eden certainly has some tricks up her sleeve, we just have yet to find out what ;)**

* * *

Chapter Nine

"Can you think of anything? Anything at all?"

Merritt was getting desperate. Eden was getting twitchy. "I'm trying, honestly," she said. And she was. She had scoured almost all her memories of her dad, yet she didn't see how any of it fit together to make 'clues'. All she wanted right now was to leave this panic room – which in itself was starting to make her panic – and put on some proper clothes.

Merritt took a deep breath. He was sitting on the sofa beside her. Daniel was hovering behind, his shadow falling over Eden. Henley and Jack were seated a few feet away, looking a little anxious as they watched on.

"Okay," Merritt said, "can you think of anything you both used to do together frequently? I don't know, go to the park, watch a particular film over and over again, whatever."

Eden opened her mouth to tell him that her father hadn't exactly been the most affectionate of dads, when something sprang to mind. "There might be one thing," she began.

Merritt's eyes lit up. "Let's hear it."

Eden licked her lips. They felt dry and sore from the recycled air. "He taught me a bit of piano. He always used to make me play the refrain from _The Mission_ because it was one of his favourite film scores..." She trailed off and shrugged. "I don't know if that helps."

Merritt smiled. "It's a start. Mind if I take a look? I'll just ask you some questions like before."

Eden paused, not understanding what he meant, when it suddenly dawned on her. Hypnotism again. She sighed. Her eyes were beginning to feel heavy anyway. "Go for it."

The last thing she heard was, "Sleep."

* * *

Eden didn't startle awake this time. Instead she opened her eyes lazily, like when you suddenly find yourself conscious at 3:17am.

The first thing she saw was Merritt's grin. "Now that's more like it," he said.

"What did I say when I was under?" she asked, feeling suddenly anxious. There were lingering emotions of stress and happiness, a strange mixture, in her veins.

"The notes for that refrain, to put it simply, are GFDF," Daniel said. His posture was still tense, but now it looked less from impatience and more from enthusiasm. Maybe they were finally getting somewhere.

"From what I remember, yeah," Eden agreed.

Daniel continued, "Now the artefacts that your father stole are valuable, so valuable that you'd want to keep them in a safe place."

"And what's safer than a safe?" Henley chipped in. She was smiling now and the sight of it filled Eden with a little hope.

"It's just a hunch but-" Merritt shrugged, "-it's all we've got right now; better than nothing."

Their words clicked into place for Eden. "You think it's a safe combination?"

Daniel nodded. "G is the seventh letter in the alphabet, F is the sixth, D the fourth, and then G again. 7647. It could work."

Merritt leaned back with a sigh. "Now we just have to find a safe, if there even is one."

"Think of the positives, Merritt," Henley chided him.

"All we need next is a place name," Jack said.

"We can work out the basics. Location, possible safe combination, any security, all that kinda stuff," Henley added.

"I don't think it'll be that easy," Daniel began, but he backtracked when Henley glared at him, "but you're right, we're getting somewhere."

"What if it's not a safe combination though?" Eden asked. She had felt obliged to say so. Everything seemed too good to be true. Some aspects of her father were a mystery to her, yet she could still apply what she knew. Her dad had never been one to take the easy option. She guessed that was even more truthful when it came to this hidden side of him. "What if it's not a 'clue' at all? You could be reading too far into it. Or if it is something important, it might not be a safe combination. It could be a flat number, part of a postcode, part of a phone number. The possibilities are endless, really."

"She's right," Merritt announced. Eden liked having him on her side.

"So we try all the possibilities," Henley said, standing up. It was still odd seeing Henley in loose pyjamas instead of smart, tailored clothes and gloves. "Research that set of numbers, see what it throws up. Then maybe that might trigger something else in Eden's memory."

"It's worth a shot. It'd probably be easier if we had Dylan though," Jack said, rubbing at his eyes.

Eden didn't like the way the others exchanged glances, as though they were hiding the extent of their worries from her. She still couldn't quite get her head round how an FBI agent could keep his secret double-life as some kind of a magician a secret.

"Was he actually arrested?" she asked them.

"Best case scenario," Daniel answered, "he's simply been dropped from our case, so it'll be a little harder to stay ahead of the FBI. Worst case scenario, they've discovered his link to us. Maybe Bradley finally told them something worth believing."

"Bradley?" This was the point in time where Eden wished she could have discussed this whole thing with the four of them over coffee beforehand with thirty days notice.

"Thaddeus Bradley," Merritt said. "World renowned magician buster currently in custody for stealing thousands of dollars."

"Did he? Steal the money, I mean," Eden asked.

Merritt gave a sly smile. "I'm afraid that's for us to know and for you to find out."

Jack threw himself about on the sofa, getting into a comfier position. "Hey, maybe Bradley could help us. He's probably heard of Eden's dad, he might know something about him that we don't. Like how his illusions and tricks work."

"You're full of good ideas today, kid," Merritt said, grinning at Jack, who only scowled in return.

"That would involve visiting him in prison, and seeing as we're on the 'most wanted' list that's maybe not a good idea after all," Daniel objected.

Jack's face fell almost imperceptibly as Daniel knocked his idea aside. Eden frowned, feeling empathy drop like a stone into her stomach. "Maybe I could talk to him," she said. "The police or whatever might not have gathered enough information on me, I might be able to get in without too much trouble. Get me a new fake ID and it could work."

"They're both on a roll now," Merritt exclaimed. He threw an encouraging smile Eden's way. "It could work," he added, looking to Daniel.

Daniel himself only continued to frown. There were dark circles under his eyes. Finally, he said, "I'll think about it."

* * *

The FBI and police finally left at around mid-morning. Eden had tried to get some sleep like the others but had found she was too awake. Instead, she had watched the agents stalking about their apartment as the sun rose. Only one now remained, a simple guard at the front door. The door itself had been fixed, yet it hung rather loosely on its battered hinges. How they had completely managed to tear it free was anyone's guess.

The five of them had left the panic room, moving as quietly as they could. They went to pack their things and found there were only a few items left behind. Random toiletries, a t-shirt, a belt. The FBI had taken most of their possessions with them. Eden didn't see how any of it was evidence, but who was she to question the police?

None of it mattered that much to Eden, however. She'd turned up in New York with nothing but the clothes on her back. It wasn't like she could wear them again anyway now that they were probably searching for a girl in that outfit. It felt odd having nothing to care about or remember. But it was also freeing.

She wandered into Jack's room, glad to be out of those short pyjamas and in the clothes Henley had lent her on the plane. Thank God they hadn't been taken.

She found Jack with his head wedged under the bed. Eden couldn't help but snigger. He yanked his head free at the sound, looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights, before his face relaxed into an easy smile.

"Shit, you scared me," he said.

Eden smiled. "What are you looking for?"

"My clothes," he answered, peering under the bed again. His voice was muffled next time he spoke. "I kicked my jacket under here earlier and it's right in the corner... aha!"

His head reappeared, along with his hand triumphantly clutching his leather jacket. "I have this at least. They took everything else."

"I don't really get why."

Jack shrugged, getting to his feet. "I don't either. The FBI work in mysterious ways."

"A bit like you then."

He smirked at that. "I guess, but I'm better."

Eden raised an eyebrow. "Prove it. Get us past that guard at the front door."

Jack pulled on his jacket, looking a little comical against his trackies. "At least make it a bit harder for me."

Eden grinned and jerked her head towards the stairs. "Go on then, hop to it."


End file.
